05/17/2013

The Burden of Excessive Alcohol Use in Wisconsin

By Penny Black, MS

Excessive alcohol use* is not a new, inconsequential, or
geographically-isolated problem. In 2010, approximately 17% of US adults
reported binge drinking, 5% reported heavy drinking, 7.6% reported drinking
while pregnant, and 39% of youth under the age of 21 reported drinking (Source:
CDC, BRFSS). A report released in 2011 estimates the economic costs of
excessive alcohol consumption in the US is approximately $223 billion each year.

Excessive alcohol consumption is one of Wisconsin’s biggest
public health issues. Excessive alcohol consumption is associated with many
negative health and social consequences, which come at a great economic cost.
Everyone who lives and works in Wisconsin is affected by these consequences and
associated economic costs of excessive alcohol consumption, regardless of his or
her personal drinking behavior.

Released in March 2013, The
Burden of Excessive Alcohol Use in Wisconsin, outlines these costs. The
report states that excessive alcohol use in Wisconsin led to approximately 1,529
deaths, 48,578 hospitalizations, 46,583 treatment admissions, 60,221 arrests,
and 5,751 motor vehicle crashes in 2011 and estimates an annual economic cost
of $6.8 billion. These costs are borne by everyone, not just the excessive
drinkers, through higher insurance rates, diverted government spending to
address substance abuse-related crimes and consequences, lost economic output,
and higher healthcare costs. The report describes what Wisconsinites are paying
for and who’s paying what and includes county-level estimates.

Economic costs are broken into three large cost categories:
healthcare, lost productivity (includes premature death), and “other,” which
includes costs to the criminal justice system and motor vehicle crashes. $6.8
billion breaks down into these categories as such:

Healthcare costs: $749 million

Lost productivity costs: $4.9 billion

Other costs: $1.1 billion

Payers of these economic costs are also broken into three
categories: government (includes local, state, and federal), excessive drinkers
and their families, and “others in society,” which includes, but is not limited
to, private health insurers, employers, and crime victims. These payers bear
the $6.8 billion as follows:

Government: $2.9 billion

Excessive drinkers and their families: $2.8
billion

Others in society: $1.1 billion

Funded by the Wisconsin Partnership Program, the report represents a
community-academic partnership between the University of Wisconsin Population
Health Institute and Health First Wisconsin, a health policy-focused
community-based organization (www.healthfirstwi.org).

The report has garnered much media attention and advocates
are hoping it will lead to policy change in the state. Specifically, Health First
Wisconsin is hoping to generate support for the following policies:

21 is 21: This policy would enforce the minimum
legal drinking age in bars and restaurants. Parents could no longer buy alcohol
for their underage children.

Increase alcohol tax: This policy would increase
the excise tax on beer, wine, and spirits. The beer tax was last raised in 1969
and is second lowest in the nation.

Sobriety checkpoints: This policy would allow
local jurisdictions to implement sobriety checkpoints. Thirty-eight states
allow them and research shows they can reduce alcohol-related crashes by 20%.

*Excessive alcohol consumption is defined by the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention as binge drinking (≥4 drinks per occasion for a
woman, and ≥5 drinks per occasion for a man); heavy drinking (>1
drink per day for a woman, and >2 drinks per day on average for a
man); any alcohol consumption by youth aged <21 years; and any alcohol
consumption by pregnant women.